Article (Scientific journals)
Pan-European Study on the Prevalence of the Feline Leukaemia Virus Infection - Reported by the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD Europe).
Studer, Nadine; Lutz, Hans; Saegerman, Claude et al.
2019In Viruses, 11 (11)
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Keywords :
FeLV; RT-qPCR; gross domestic product at purchasing power parity per capita; prevalence; protective factors; retrovirus; risk factors; vaccination; veterinary sciences; virus shedding
Abstract :
[en] Feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus associated with fatal disease in progressively infected cats. While testing/removal and vaccination led to a decreased prevalence of FeLV, recently, this decrease has reportedly stagnated in some countries. This study aimed to prospectively determine the prevalence of FeLV viraemia in cats taken to veterinary facilities in 32 European countries. FeLV viral RNA was semiquantitatively detected in saliva, using RT-qPCR as a measure of viraemia. Risk and protective factors were assessed using an online questionnaire to report geographic, demographic, husbandry, FeLV vaccination, and clinical data. The overall prevalence of FeLV viraemia in cats visiting a veterinary facility, of which 10.4% were shelter and rescue cats, was 2.3% (141/6005; 95% CI: 2.0%-2.8%) with the highest prevalences in Portugal, Hungary, and Italy/Malta (5.7%-8.8%). Using multivariate analysis, seven risk factors (Southern Europe, male intact, 1-6 years of age, indoor and outdoor or outdoor-only living, living in a group of >/=5 cats, illness), and three protective factors (Northern Europe, Western Europe, pedigree cats) were identified. Using classification and regression tree (CART) analysis, the origin of cats in Europe, pedigree, and access to outdoors were important predictors of FeLV status. FeLV-infected sick cats shed more viral RNA than FeLV-infected healthy cats, and they suffered more frequently from anaemia, anorexia, and gingivitis/stomatitis than uninfected sick cats. Most cats had never been FeLV-vaccinated; vaccination rates were indirectly associated with the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. In conclusion, we identified countries where FeLV was undetectable, demonstrating that the infection can be eradicated and highlighting those regions where awareness and prevention should be increased.
Disciplines :
Veterinary medicine & animal health
Author, co-author :
Studer, Nadine
Lutz, Hans
Saegerman, Claude  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Epidémiologie et analyse des risques appl. aux sc. vétér.
Gonczi, Eniko
Meli, Marina L.
Boo, Gianluca
Hartmann, Katrin
Hosie, Margaret J.
Moestl, Karin
Tasker, Severine
Belak, Sandor
Lloret, Albert
Boucraut-Baralon, Corine
Egberink, Herman F.
Pennisi, Maria-Grazia
Truyen, Uwe
Frymus, Tadeusz
Thiry, Etienne ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Virologie vétérinaire et maladies virales animales
Marsilio, Fulvio
Addie, Diane
Hochleithner, Manfred
Tkalec, Filip
Vizi, Zsuzsanna
Brunetti, Anna
Georgiev, Boyko
Ludwig-Begall, Louisa  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Virologie vétérinaire et maladies virales animales
Tschuor, Flurin
Mooney, Carmel T.
Eliasson, Catarina
Orro, Janne
Johansen, Helle
Juuti, Kirsi
Krampl, Igor
Kovalenko, Kaspars
Sengaut, Jakov
Sobral, Cristina
Borska, Petra
Kovarikova, Simona
Hofmann-Lehmann, Regina
More authors (29 more) Less
Language :
English
Title :
Pan-European Study on the Prevalence of the Feline Leukaemia Virus Infection - Reported by the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD Europe).
Publication date :
2019
Journal title :
Viruses
eISSN :
1999-4915
Publisher :
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), Switzerland
Volume :
11
Issue :
11
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
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since 01 January 2020

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